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J; 0. TAFT. CARPET SEWING MAGHINE.

No. 547,866. V Patented Oct. 15,1895.

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- J.. C. TAFT.

CARPET SEWING MACHINE.

-- N 547,866. Patented Oct. 15, 1895.

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J. G. TAPT. CARPET snwme MAGHI-NE.

No. 547,866. Patented Oct. 15, 1895.

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J. 0. TAiET. CARPET SEWING MACHINE.

Patented Oct 15 TNESEEEI ATTY.

Unitas STATES PATENT @FFNE,

JEROME C. TAFT, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

CARPET-SEWING MACHINE.

$PEOIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 547,866, dated October 15, 1895. Application filed March 7, 1892. Serial lilo. 424,057. (ModeL) To all whomit may concern.-

Be it known that I, JEROME C.TAF1, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sewingdviachines, of which the following is a specification. The nature of my invention consists in mechanism for passing the needle alternately through and over the edge of the fabric, whereby the loop of each alternate stitch will be drawn across the said edge, as hereinafter fully set forth.

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 represents a rear elevation of, the same with the arms of the looper in their opened position. Fig. 3 represents a detail elevation with some of the parts taken away. Fig. 4 represents a longitudinal sec-' tion taken in the line 4 t of Fig. 5. Fig. 5 represents a horizontal section taken in the line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 represents a rear elevation of the machine with the loop-engaging arms in their closed position. Fig. 7 represents a horizontal section taken in the line 7 7 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 represents a side elevation showing the devices employed for holding the fabric in proper position for the action of the machine.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents the supporting-track upon which the machine moves, and B the bed-plate of the carriage, which is supported for movement along the track by means of the flanged wheels 0 C O O, which wheels are held upon the axles D D, and to the bed-plate B is secured the under plate E, provided at its corners with the ears F F F F, which extend downward below the level of the under surface of the track A, and are provided with theantifrictionrollers C O, which bear against the said under surface in opposition to the flanged wheels 0 0 above the said track, the under plate E being connected to the bed-plate B and adapted for a yielding movement by means of the upright studs G G, attached to the plate E and passing loosely through the perforations a in the plate B, and which are provided at the upper side of the plate B with the springs b, which are held-upon the pins G by means of the transverse pin 0, andthe plate E may be forced downward against the resilience of the springs 12 upon the studs G to loosen the ma chine from the track by means of the screw H, which is provided with the arm 01 for turning the same.

Upon the axle D is secured the ratchetwheel I, and upon the said axle, at the side of the ratchet-wheel, is placed the vibrating arm J, to the side of which is pivoted the pawl K, which pawl engages with the ratchet-wheel I, and operative connection is made from the vibrating arm J to the eccentric L upon the cam-shaft M by means of the connecting-rod N. Upon the shaft M is placed the cam O, which serves to operate the needle-arm P, which arm is pivoted to the frame at the point a, and at its lower end needle I). Tothe shaft M is also secured the cam Q, which serves to impart a vibratory motion to the upright spindle R, to the lower end of which is attached the hook-formed lower looper-arm S, and loosely upon thespindle R is placed the sliding hook-formed upper arm S of the looper, which arm is prevented from turning upon the spindle R by means of the spline c. The hub d of the arm S is provided with the flange e, and upon the spindle R, above the hub d, is placed the spiral springf, which will serve to force the upper arm S down upon the lower arm S, the said upper arm being raised against the downward action of the springf by means of the forked bell-crank lever T, which engages with the under side of the flange e, and is operated by means of the cam U upon the shaft M, and to the bellcrank lever T is attached the guide u, which serves to prevent the formation of the loop upon the upper side of the needle. The fabric-guide V is provided with a dovetailed slide g, which enters a corresponding vertical groove 72-, made in the side of the bed-plate B, whereby the said guide is made capable of an up-and-down movement, which movement is imparted thereto bymeans of the arm W, which arm is held between the top of the slide g and the pin 11, which'pin projects backward from the inner side of the guide V, the said arm W being attached to the rod j, held loosely in the transverse bearing 70, and to the opposite end of the said rod is attached the arm Z, which engages at its outer end with the cam X, shown in dotted lines upon the inner side of the gear Y, the said gear being held carries the curved I to turn loosely upon the stud m and engaging with the teeth of the pinion Z upon the shaft M, and to the hub 77. of the gear Y is attached the hand-crank 0, by means of which the machine is operated.

The guide V for the fabric may be preferably provided with a downwardly-projecting blade which enters between the two pieces of fabric q g, which are to be sewed together; but the employment of the said blade 1:) is not deemed essential to the practical operation of the machine and may be omitted. The pieces of fabric q q are to be suitably stretched side by side and supported in an elevated position, as shown in Fig. 8, so that the edges 7 a will press upward against the bearing-surface sof the fabric-guide, and will, therefore,be caused to follow the said guide in its upward movement after being forced downward thereby, the upward position of the said edges being indicated by dotted lines. In order to properly stretch and support the fabric, to the post e, which supports one end of the track A, is attached the hook f, which is connected by means of suitable links with the holding-jaws g, and to the post e which supports the opposite end of the track A, is attached the winch h, connected by means of a rope or chain i with the opposite holding-jaw g the said hook and winch being located at a suitable distance above the track A; and suitable clamps j are suspended from the ceiling to support the fabric at proper intervals between the said holding'jaws, so as to hold the fabric in an elevated stretched condition to bear against the guide V, as set forth.

The operation of the machine will be as follows: Upon turning the hand-crank 0 the machine will be fed along the track intermittently by means of the ratchet mechanism, each forward movement of the machine being made equal to the desired length of stitch, and as the needle-arm I is moved forward by the action of the cam O the hook-formed looperarms S S are thrown forward from their rearward position, (shown in Fig. 7,) so as to pass close to the under side of the needle I) and enter the loop there formed and carry the same forward beyond the path of the needle. Then upon the withdrawal of the needle the upper looper-arm will be raised by the action of the cam V upon the forked bellcrank levcr'l, thus operating to open the loop so that upon the return of the needle it will pass through the said loop, which is held upon the books of the looper-arms, and upon the downward movement of the upper looperarm and the succeeding backward movement of both arms 8' S to disengage the hooks the said loop will be deposited upon the needle, and upon the immediate succeeding forward movement of the looper-arms their hook ends will pass through the second loop at the under side of the needle, as before, thus forming the chain-stitch, and the machine is so constructed that every alternate stitch will be taken above and below the edge of the fabric to be sewed by the alternate raising and lowering of the guide V, which is cut away at t to allow the unobstructed passage of the needle I), the upper position of the guide V being shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 6 and the lower position of the same being shown by the full lines in Figs. 2 and 6,

the edges 'rrof the stretched fabric q q automatically rising with the upward movement of the guide V for the passage of the needle through the fabric and being then forced down by the guide to cause the needle to pass over the fabric.

I claim as my invention 1. In a sewing machine, the combination with mechanism for forming the stitch, and feeding the machine forward along the edge of the fabric, of means for supporting the edge of the fabric above the path of the needle, the fabric guide, and means for operating the same to press the edge of the fabric below the path of the needle at each alternate stitch, whereby the loop will then be drawn, outside of the fabric, substantially as described.

2. In a sewing machine, the combination with the reciprocating eye pointed needle, and the oscillating hook formed looper arms, of the cam for actuating the looper arms simultaneously forward, so that their hook ends will enter the loop and carry it sidewise from the under side of the needle and hold the said loop while the needle recedes, means for feeding the machine forward upon the retraction of the needle, the cam for raising the upper looper arm from the lower one to spread the loop for the entrance of the needle upon its return movement, means for supporting the edge of the fabric above the path of the needle, and the fabric guide adapted to press the edge of the fabric away from the needle at each alternate stitch, substantially as described.

JEROME TAFT. Witnesses:

SOCRATES SCHOLFIELD, JAMEs W. BOWMAN. 

